This work offers a summary of the book “BUILD YOUR OWN GARAGE: Blueprints and Tools to Unleash Your Company’s Hidden Creativity” by Bernd Schmitt and Laura Brown.

Bernd Schmitt is professor of business at Columbia Business School in New York and executive director of the Center on Global Brand Leadership. Laura Brown is a writer and business communication consultant based in New York City.

Garages are revered in business folklore as places where good ideas can be grown into new businesses. But it isn’t just start-ups that need a garage – every company actually needs an in-house garage where creative ideas can bubble to the surface if it aspires to be vibrant and successful in the future.

In Build Your Own Garage, Schmitt and Brown raise a question: “What’s the key to building and running a successful corporate garage?” Mostly, it’s hitting the right balance between the systems side of the business and the creative side.

Almost every business organization has untapped reserves of creativity. The garage approach unleashes those reserves and provides a framework around which creative ideas can be turned into a sustainable competitive advantage.

In short, build your own garage to become innovative, creative and profitable.